Deepti Sharma's Heroics Lead India to Their Second-Highest Run Chase in WODIs

Deepti Sharma's brilliant 62 off 64 balls, including the only six of the game, guided India to a remarkable victory as they chased down 259 runs with relative ease in the first ODI against England on July 16. 

The days when Indian women struggled to chase totals beyond 250 are long gone. Smriti Mandhana provided a fiery start with a quickfire 28 off 24 balls, setting the stage for the run chase. Pratika Rawal continued the momentum with a solid 36 off 51 balls. However, pressure began to build around the 30th over as India found themselves four wickets down.

Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur both returned without troubling the scorers much, putting Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma under significant pressure. But the duo remained undeterred, taking calculated risks and starting multiple overs with boundaries. Rodrigues eventually got out for 48, but the 86-run partnership was enough to put India firmly in the driver's seat. Deepti Sharma stayed unbeaten till the end, sealing the victory with an impressive 62 off 64 balls.

India women's highest run chases in WODIs are as follows:

Run Chase	Opponent	Venue	Year
266/8	Australia Women	Ray Mitchell Oval Harrup Park	2021
262/6	England Women	The Rose Bowl	2025*
252/4	New Zealand Women	John Davies Oval	2022
248/5	South Africa Women	Reliance Stadium	2019
245/9	South Africa Women	P Sara Oval	2017

India women's highest run chases against England are:

Run Chase	Venue	Year
259/6	The Rose Bowl	2025*
232/3	County Ground	2022
230/5	Lord's	2012
220/6	County Ground	2021